From Ebola to the bombing of Gaza, civil society was the first responder to humanitarian emergencies during the last year, but faces dire threats and a funding crisis around the world, says a new report.

“During the last year civil society was everywhere, doing great work often at the frontline of the world’s challenges, but at the same time having to stave off threats to its very existence,” said Dr Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, the CIVICUS Secretary-General on launching the organisation’s 2015 State of Civil Society Report.

"I See That It Is Possible" identifies the barriers that prevent persons with disabilities and their caregivers from accessing GBV programs and outlines activities to better meet their needs in humanitarian programming.

A front-runner in the race to end hunger, the region still struggles with malnutrition

Multiple trends are shaping the nutrition map for Europe and Central Asia, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s first-ever report on food insecurity and malnutrition in Europe and Central Asia, released today. The problems of food insecurity have changed away from that of caloric sufficiency toward the quality of peoples’ diets – a trend that will likely continue in this way.

In this briefing note, Watchlist highlights abductions of children in situations of armed conflict and the detention of children allegedly associated with armed forces or groups, through examining the Secretary-General’s annual reports from 2002 to 2014.

The 2015 release of the Peoples under Threat index marks the 10th year that Peoples under Threat has sought to identify those communities around the world that are most at risk of genocide, mass political killing or systematic violent repression.

A number of the countries which rose most sharply in the index last year, including Syria,
Yemen and Ukraine, saw escalating violence over the course of 2014–15 and the killing, in total, of tens of thousands of civilians.

In 2014, only 0.5% of all illegal border-crossings reported by EU Member States at the external borders took place at the 6 000-kilometre-long eastern borders of the EU, totalling 1 275.

Meanwhile, the economic downturn in Russia led to a decline in regular traffic flows at EU Member States’ borders with the country, with the weakening rouble reducing the number of Russian travellers and shoppers crossing the EU borders. This trend was the most pronounced near the end of last year.

This report provides a UK perspective on the global human rights situation during 2014, and examples of what the government is doing to promote human rights and democratic values overseas. It reviews the situation in specific countries and against the thematic priorities around which our work is organised.

One of the most striking trends of 2014 was the pressure put by governments on civil society organisations in many parts of the world, damaging human rights and the economic interests of those same countries.

The year opened with a worsening of the ongoing conflicts in Yemen, Nigeria and Ukraine, each with potentially major regional implications. Violence escalated in Sudan, as well as in Lebanon's Tripoli and along its southern border with Israel, and a deadly clash between police and militants in the southern Philippines threatened to derail the peace process there. In South Asia, both Bangladesh and Nepal saw political tensions intensify.

All over the world, human rights defenders (HRDs) are willing to put up with the considerable risks that come with promoting and protecting civil and political rights. Intimidation, blacklisting, imprisonment and even the criminalisation of their actions are merely a few examples of the dangers they are faced with on a daily basis. How can we best ensure their protection? What is the role of Swiss governmental and non-governmental actors? And which protective mechanisms are being taken at the level of international policy?

December saw a significant deterioration of the security situation – compared to the previous month – in nine countries or conflict situations in the world, including in South Asia (Pakistan and India), and East Africa (South Sudan and Kenya). There is a risk of increased violence in the coming month in Sudan, where major offensives are anticipated on the heels of a failure in the peace talks; in Sri Lanka, in the context of the 8 January elections; and in Haiti, where the current president could rule by decree unless parliament's mandate, due to expire on 12 January, is extended.

This issue of Southasiadisasters.net, focuses on the important theme of 'Building Resilience for All'. It highlights the actions that are needed and the best practices that are prevalent among humanitarian agencies across the globe to build the resilience of the most marginalised and neglected groups. As eclectic as the field of resilience building, this issue contains a wide array of experiences and opinions on this important theme.

MOSCOW – Recognising a solid and growing relationship, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the government of the Russian Federation today signed an important strategic partnership agreement that will spearhead joint efforts on many fronts to end global hunger and malnutrition.

After a rainy season lull, South Sudan’s warring parties are preparing for major offensives with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO) this week launching attacks on Bentiu, capital of oil-producing Unity state (see our recent Conflict Alert). Hardliners in the government and the SPLA-IO appear determined to settle the conflict through war.

The U.S. expanded its aerial campaign against Islamic State (IS) militants in late September with strikes in Syria’s north and east. The operation, which targets both IS and fighters linked to al-Qaeda’s central leadership and the affiliated group Jabhat al-Nusra, risks alienating other rebel groups in Syria and strengthening support for IS.